None knew the true nature of the fifth Celestial Cave Dwelling, where the Immortal Emperor Qing Lin secluded himself. Even its size remained a mystery.

In ages past, only Qing Lin himself could tread within. Entry was forbidden to all others, upon pain of death!

Even his daughter, Qing Shuang, had never crossed its threshold. The Celestial Realm’s fifth cave was Qing Lin’s most guarded secret!

Then, as the violet light faded from the Celestial Realm’s sky, all who were touched by its rays vanished from sight.

Wang Lin, bathed in the purple glow, felt as though his very being shattered into countless fragments. The sensation was bizarre, yet devoid of pain.

Though it seemed an eternity, it was but a fleeting instant. In a heartbeat, Wang Lin found himself in an alien land.

Black sand stretched as far as the eye could see, an endless expanse beneath a sky veiled in perpetual twilight. Whispering winds stirred the sands, causing them to swirl and dance like miniature cyclones, fleeting and ephemeral.

The oppressive atmosphere weighed upon the soul, filling it with a sense of dread.

Wang Lin stood upon the ebony dunes, gazing at the somber heavens, his expression grim.

His divine sense, which could once encompass the entirety of the Demon Spirit Land, now found no borders to this realm. Within its reach, only Wang Lin existed.

It seemed that all who had entered were scattered, destined to wander this desolate place alone.

Lost in thought, Wang Lin ascended into the air, but before he could reach ten fathoms, a sudden dread washed over him. He plummeted back to earth, his right eye flashing emerald. In an instant, the Azure Light Shield materialized before him.

As the shield appeared, a stream of ashen energy descended from the sky, hurtling towards Wang Lin with incredible speed. It struck the Azure Light Shield with a deafening roar.

Wang Lin was thrown back ten paces, his eyes filled with icy resolve. Without hesitation, he clenched his right fist and unleashed a blow.

The phantom of an ancient god materialized behind him, imbuing the strike with immense power. The fist met the ashen energy, and with a resounding boom, the energy shattered.

Yet, this disintegration did not bring relief. Wang Lin’s eyes widened in alarm, and he retreated swiftly.

The shattered ashen energy did not dissipate. Instead, it multiplied into dozens of more potent streams, converging upon Wang Lin from all directions.

The ground trembled as Wang Lin retreated, the ashen energy relentless in its pursuit. Although the Azure Light Shield held firm, the sheer force of the impacts reverberated through his body.

He staggered back a thousand fathoms. As the ashen energy drew near once more, Wang Lin expelled a breath of primal spirit energy, directing it towards the attacking streams. At the moment of collision, he unleashed another fist, triggering a series of sonic booms. The sight that followed sent a chill down his spine.

A dozen streams of ashen energy collapsed, only to be replaced by hundreds, filling the heavens like a swarm of monstrous dragons.

“What in the heavens is this!” Wang Lin’s scalp tingled with fear. His first strike had generated little feedback, but this second blow produced a shocking recoil, numbing his right fist.

Though the sensation was fleeting, Wang Lin dared not unleash a third strike.

Retreating hastily, he summoned the Azure Light Shield to encircle him, deflecting the relentless barrage of hundreds of ashen streams.

Across the desolate black sands, Wang Lin’s figure cut a path as he fled. Behind him, the hundreds of ashen streams surged in pursuit, carving long furrows into the earth.

Spatial manipulation proved useless here. Even the art of “Shrinking the Earth” only transported him an inch with each step, no matter his efforts.

“To encounter such a bizarre thing upon arrival…” Wang Lin muttered bitterly. As he fled, he saw that the ashen streams would not cease their pursuit. A murderous intent flared in his eyes.

His right hand formed a mystic gesture. Wang Lin whirled around and pointed towards the sky, uttering a word of power: “Summon Winds!”

If brute force could not destroy these entities, then he would resort to immortal arts and divine powers.

As the words left his lips, the darkened heavens roared with a tempestuous wind, coalescing into four black dragons.

But the moment the black dragons materialized, the somber sky above churned like a raging sea!

Almost half the heavens were consumed by countless streams of ashen energy, swirling into a colossal vortex that reached from the ground to the sky. To Wang Lin’s utter disbelief, it devoured the four wind-borne dragons whole.

Wang Lin’s blood ran cold, and he fled once more. The gray vortex grew larger with each moment, consuming the ashen energy that constantly emanated from the heavens and the earth. The suction it exerted threatened to pull him back into its maw.

“What is this thing!” he hissed through gritted teeth. The Ancient God’s Cauldron materialized around him, and the power of the ancient gods surged through his veins, empowering the vessel. Protected by the ancient artifact, Wang Lin vanished, reappearing a hundred fathoms away.

Though a mere hundred fathoms, it sparked a spark of decisiveness in his eyes. To the maelstrom, it was no distance at all. If he was to survive, he had to halt the maelstrom in its tracks, even if for a fleeting instant.

He spun on his heel, his fingers flying to his storage bag. A moment later, dozens of greatswords hurtled forth.
As the score of greatswords materialized, they instantly formed a formidable sword array, aimed directly at the pursuing whirlwind.

Though it pained him to do so, as the multitude of blades drew near, Wang Lin roared, “Swordburst!”

The word had barely left his lips when one of the greatswords erupted with destructive energy, exploding in a cataclysmic burst of shrapnel that tore towards the cyclone. Simultaneously, the surrounding swords shattered almost in unison!

The resulting storm of fragments carved a path into the heart of the whirlwind, causing its furious speed to momentarily falter.

His heart aching, Wang Lin’s ancient god cauldron flashed into existence around him, and he vanished from his position, reappearing a hundred paces away. As soon as he materialized, the cauldron flickered once more.

In a rapid succession of nine such leaps, Wang Lin found himself nearly a thousand paces distant, yet his expression remained grim. The whirlwind, though momentarily stunned, resumed its relentless pursuit.

A look of grim determination crossed Wang Lin’s face. Gritting his teeth, he reached out with his right hand, tearing a fissure in the very fabric of reality before him. With a surge of power, the ethereal God-Slaying Spear materialized from the rift, crackling with arcs of black lightning.

Grasping the spear firmly, Wang Lin hurled it backwards with all his might!

The weapon shot towards the cyclone, piercing through its swirling form in an instant. The cataclysmic energy it contained detonated with a thunderous roar, shaking the heavens and the earth.

The whirlwind collapsed!

Seizing the opportunity, Wang Lin invoked the power of his ancient god cauldron once more, executing dozens of rapid, successive leaps.

But his face paled as he witnessed the scene behind him.

The shattered whirlwind, like clinging ash, swiftly reformed into a dozen identical cyclones, each howling hungrily as they bore down upon Wang Lin.

He had tried every trick, every maneuver, but the whirlwind refused to be extinguished. In fact, each attack only served to multiply them. In his countless battles, Wang Lin had never encountered such a phenomenon!

With his level of cultivation, he could see that these were no mere illusions; each whirlwind was chillingly real.

“I cannot shatter them, nor can I use my treasures or invoke my spells. For if these winds collapse further, they will multiply into hundreds! How can I possibly evade such a horde!”

The cyclones drew ever closer, constantly devouring the ethereal gray energy that swirled in the air, growing stronger with each passing moment. Wang Lin knew that even with the ancient god cauldron, he could only maintain his distance for a brief time before they overwhelmed him.

“If I cannot evade, then I shall endure!” Wang Lin halted his retreat, unwilling to allow the cyclones to gain further strength. As he stopped, the power of the ancient god surged throughout his body, the sound of cracking bones echoing as Wang Lin began to swell in size.

The true form of the ancient god was unveiled once more!

Towering hundreds of feet tall, seemingly capable of supporting the heavens with a single hand, the five ancient god stars circled above his brow. As the many cyclones howled towards him, Wang Lin unleashed a defiant roar that shook the very cosmos!

Abandoning all thoughts of escape, he stepped forward, the ancient god cauldron flickering around his immense form as he vanished, reappearing directly before the foremost cyclone!

Deep within the fifth dwelling of the Immortal Spirit Heavenly Realm, there stood a wooden bridge. Beneath it flowed a river of black water, its depths concealing grotesque and shadowy figures.

Upon the bridge, a lone figure sat in meditation.

His features were obscured, yet it was apparent that he wore full plate armor, shrouded in a dense and malevolent black mist that radiated an aura of pure, chilling evil. The darkness was so profound that it transformed the area around him into a veritable domain of demons!

He remained motionless, eternally seated, before him, a small bottle floated suspended, its opening sealed with a wooden stopper, concealing the nature of its contents.

“Who will be the first to emerge… How many ages has it been since I tasted the flesh and blood of mortals…” The figure within the black mist slowly opened his eyes, revealing a maddening bloodlust. He licked his lips, emitting a rasping sound like the grating of bone against bone.